


i'm hooked on all these feelings

by xoxogossipwolf



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, oh my god so much fluff and introspection, post ep 13x7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 23:50:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13728627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xoxogossipwolf/pseuds/xoxogossipwolf
Summary: Penelope is pretty sure she loves one Luke Alvez. So she thinks on it, a lot.





	i'm hooked on all these feelings

**Author's Note:**

> okay! my first ever cm fic so please be gentle i love these 2 so much and the way he looks at her KILLS me and there is such a lack of fics for them yall okay okay thanks for coming to my ted talk leave a comment or kudos on ur way out if ur into that

Luke is a very, very tactile person, Penelope realizes after they drop little Lou off to Phil. She's actually pretty sure realized this sometime last year, when he put his hands on her shoulders at Reid's bail hearing. Or that time after Stephen which is something she is not going to think about. Not right now.

The wide, delighted grin Phil wore when Lou was licking his chin in that excited puppy way is going to be something Penelope thinks about for a while. She feels warm to her toes at the thought of them together, helping each other.

And newbie, Alvez, Luke, he just reached his arm around her shoulders and squeezed and his hand moved down to rest on the middle of her back. She’s going to remember that sunshine smile for ages, she’s going to think about it on days when cases really get to her and her family is away fighting the horrors they fight.

She’s also going to remember the way he said he needed something to live for when he was talking about Roxy. She’s going to remember the way the words struck an ache somewhere deep in her heart, made her feel sad all the way down to her bones.

She doesn’t realize he’s been talking to her until they’ve stopped at a red light, and he puts his hand on her thigh. Her eyes shoot to his and he’s wearing a puzzled look on his face. “You didn’t hear a single word I said, did you?”

He’s wearing a grin so big and her heart skips at the sight. “Uh. No. Yes. No, sorry. I was lost in my head. Phil just looked so happy. Lou’s going to be so good for him.” Penelope sighs, smile on her face. A rush of warmth towards Luke doesn’t shock her as much as it would have a year ago.

“That was a really amazingly kind thing you did.” Luke’s grin turns shy and he puts his hand back on the wheel as the light turns green. “It was nothing, we all need a little motivation to keep going sometimes, you know? Having something to care for really helps with that.” Luke tells her.

“Like you, with Roxy?” Luke’s face shutters and she wishes she could snatch the words out of the air and put them back in her vocal cords

“Sorry that’s very personal.” Luke shakes his head. “No, no. It's okay. Yeah. Like me and Roxy. I was in a real bad way, after I got back from my first deployment. And then I went back into the frying pan, and then I came back even worse.” Luke swallows and Penelope watches his Adam's apple bob in his long neck.

“So, Roxy. Yeah. I’d look at her in the morning and knew I needed to get up. Get out of bed, Luke, I would tell myself. It isn’t just you anymore, got a little pup you gotta take care of. A little life that depends on you. So she really helped to pull me out of that. Well, therapy and meds helped too, as they do.” Luke’s face colors as if Penelope is going to judge him for being human and needing help.

She feels a rush a pride towards him. “I’m really, really glad you got the help you needed and that you’re doing better, Luke.” She puts her hand on his knee and squeezes, he looks over to her and smiles. He puts his big hand over hers. “Thanks, Pen.”

She wants so, so badly to slip her fingers between his, to test the waters. Because she’s pretty damn sure that he’s got feelings for her, she has eyes okay. She sees the way he looks at her, she feels the lingering touches, the soft, gentle smiles that light up any room he’s in. 

Especially in her little lair filled with her screens that showcase horrors and darkness. Among her little trinkets and bright things that make the horrors and dark bearable, his smile is the thing with the most color and light and joy and her heart aches in such a sweet way when he’s in there, when he smiles at her like it's easy. Like his heart is light when he looks at her.

She doesn’t get a chance to see what he would do if she flipped her palm over and slipped her fingers to fit between his though, he does that all on his own. He slips his fingers between hers, squeezes and looks over at her just for a second and her heart. Jesus, her heart goes wild.

“Yeah?” She asks, and he nods. “Yeah. You too?” She laughs gently and strokes her thumb over his. “You’re the profiler, newbie. You tell me.” He brings their joined hands up to his mouth and places the sweetest of kisses onto the back of her hand.

What else is there to say to that, really, Penelope thinks. She leans back and feels warm and content all the way down to her marrow as Luke drives and drives.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! please be gentle xo 
> 
> title from hayley kiyoko- feelings


End file.
